EP.181 Sign Here, Battle Mage! (7)
In a few exchanges, one reads the opponent’s skill.
Of course, Rania knows Kelharlem’s skill as she has faced him as Raniel before. But Kelharlem does not know hers. He feels a surprising thrill while exchanging magic with the girl before him.
‘…Amazing.’
He doesn’t rely solely on the peculiar combat style called Stock. To that girl, Stock is like a sword sheath. Its form and size are undefined.
‘What will come out?’
It’s uncertain. That’s what makes it annoying.
Stock merely provides weapons; it’s the girl’s job to wield them. And she expertly handles her spells. This is something that can only be honed in practice, not in theory.
Kelharlem’s eyes narrowed.
‘So it is.’
Suspicion dwells within his gaze.
It’s a phenomenon that should be logically impossible and incomprehensible. But instinct, as a superhuman, sounds an alarm. Being in close proximity only heightens his doubts.
‘I suppose I should watch a bit longer.’
An uninvited interest in the duel has sparked.
A reason to engage in battle has emerged.
“…Huff.”
Kelharlem exhaled sharply.
In response, the girl moves. For the first time, their positions shift.
Bam!
The girl kicks off the ground and charges.
In an instant, dust rises, and the girl’s figure darts like an arrow. With each step she takes, the distance shrinks rapidly.
‘Indeed.’
Kelharlem stretches out his arm.
‘This is bothersome.’
He waves his fingers, drawing the circuit. The circuit he crafts, perfected to the level of a master, is quick and intricate.
Flash!
The circuit, completed in the blink of an eye, emits light.
First, the need to slow down her speed arises. The finished spell strikes the ground. The duel arena’s floor buckles and rises, blocking the girl’s footsteps.
This is how a mage counters a warrior.
A simple tactic that erodes the ground to kill momentum. Kelharlem does not perceive his opponent as a fellow mage from the start.
‘Battle Mage.’
A class that’s both a mage and has the characteristics of a warrior.
In close quarters, the mage’s weakness of becoming powerless is nibbled at like a warrior. Therefore, the way to counter her is akin to how one would against a warrior.
He blocks her approach.
He widens the distance and intercepts her with powerful spells.
Kelharlem moves according to the strategies already ingrained in his mind. His movements are as precise as a finely-tuned machine. Kelharlem’s spells burst forth continuously.
Stone walls rise, blocking the path.
Flames flow along the ground, obstructing access.
Typically, a normal warrior or battle mage would hesitate here. Being obstructed means attempting to intercept spells from a distance. If this is the case… wizards would have the advantage.
Boom!
However, the opponent is far from ordinary.
She is a remarkable girl and, above all, resembles that Ashen Mage.
Boom, rumble!
Raniel van Trias, the Ashen Mage.
A mage who does not lean towards either warriors or mages… handling the advantages of both.
Thud.
In short, one cannot confront a girl who resembles him with conventional methods.
Crack!
With a loud noise, stone walls soar into the air. A stone pillar emerges from the artificially modified terrain of Kelharlem. The pillar that rises and shatters the stone walls wasn’t summoned by him.
Stone-Wall.
Rania van Trias.
She leaps onto the tilted pillar. Her ash-colored hair dances in the air. Floating in midair, she curls her lips upwards.
“Will this suffice?”
A clenched fist.
The amount of mana seeping through her fingers is astonishing. Multiple basic spells are layered. How did she manage to stack that many spells? There’s no need to question it.
‘Stock.’
A combat style that shakes the foundation of mages.
Facing head-on, it’s one of the most troublesome things to deal with. Kelharlem reverses the circuits that are close to completion.
Switching between attack and defense.
The shapes and directions change in the blink of an eye. Rania swings her fist and Kelharlem’s circuit bursts forth almost simultaneously.
Spell-Boost.
Spell-Reinforce.
Smite.
A slender streak of brilliance shoots forth like an arrow.
In response, what Kelharlem draws upon is his specialty, an elemental basic spell he has honed to its limits.
Spray.
A massive amount of water erupts from below, shooting upwards. The suddenly surging stream of water collides with the streak of light.
Splash!
Water sprays in all directions, as the duel officially begins. Kelharlem no longer stands idle. He moves. Rania chases him. Spells intertwine and clash.
A duel between mages.
Before numerous students, a duel unfolds that deviates entirely from what they anticipated.
—
2.
The students hold their breath as they watch the duel.
This is different from before. From the moment the two began to move… the nature of the duel has changed. It feels like this is where the real thing starts.
Thud, boom!
The arena continuously vibrates. Spells collide. Every second, new spells emit light.
Spray.
Fire-Ball.
The elemental magic students, eyeing Professor Lrutia handling opposing spells simultaneously, hold their breaths. They expected her prowess to be high, but this is beyond their imaginations.
‘Double casting, the precision of the spells…’
Even in a pressured situation, her spells remain unwavering. The circuits’ finishing touches are immaculate, and precisely measured mana flows through them. Every process operates smoothly.
It feels like watching the epitome of a mage.
“Utilize spells to their utmost.”
The elemental magic students recall the content of the special lecture. They reflect on the various circuits Professor Lrutia showcased during class… and watch the duel unfold.
“Utilization is indeed the path to extremes.”
Could basic spells be that diverse?
Every moment, every second, the forms transform. Although only one spell is used, to the students, it seems as if Professor Lrutia is using dozens of spells in rotation.
Fire-Ball splits. It rises. It divides.
Spray splashes, flows, and falls.
With smooth form transformations, every second the purpose of the spells changes as well. Here lies the practicality that a wizard should pursue.
Flare! Splash!
In contrast, what about Professor Rania? The flames explode to disrupt and scatter. The flowing water stream, with a light footstep, rises the ground to disrupt the flow. She maximizes efficiency with minimal spells.
She intercepts spells with spells.
Charging forward while piercing through everything head-on.
Her advance shows no signs of slowing down.
The battle magic students observe her movements closely. They recall the teachings they learned in class.
“The greatest advantage of combat using Stock is that we can react one step later than our opponent.”
That was a point stressed by Professor Rania.
“Wizards must read their opponent’s moves first. Since they cannot predict what will come, they need to utilize plenty of preparatory spells. It means they must think ahead and strategize.”
Professor Lrutia lays traps on the ground.
She hurls fireballs, raising spray of water to obscure the opponent’s vision.
“But we do not need to do that.”
We already have all our weapons prepared.
No matter what moves the opponent makes, it’s never too late to choose what weapon to draw based on what we see.
After absorbing everything visually, Professor Rania makes her move.
“Watch until the end. It’s not too late. Make sure to see clearly and act decisively.”
She reads the trajectory of fire. She reads the flow of water.
Then, with minimal spells, she intercepts them. That’s why her movements appear relaxed.
“Corner them.”
Although she acts only after seeing all the opponent’s moves, she is still one step ahead. This is the advantage of a battle mage. It’s almost as if she intends to say just that.
‘…No need to be fixated on acting before the opponent.’
Only then do the students understand that message.
The battle magic students strain their eyes, closely following Professor Rania’s movements. The essence of the battle mage they learned in class lies right there.
Crack!
While each student gains their own enlightenment, the fight intensifies. The arena is in chaos. Piles of stones are scattered everywhere, filled with soot.
A place where one can barely find a foothold.
A not too small, not too large arena.
From a distance, two mages chase each other in a space barely the length of a foot. The process is complicated, yet what the two pursue is glaringly simple.
‘Widen the distance.’
Wizards must widen the distance.
‘Narrow the distance.’
Battle mages must close the distance.
In the end, that’s what the fight is about.
Both are conscious of each other’s spacing. The spells to bridge that gap and the spells to widen it are exchanged. Spells clash in a cacophony of sound.
And gradually, the end approaches.
The prey has become cornered. With nowhere left to run, a hunter dashes forward to bite the neck of the cornered prey. However, the prey isn’t simply sitting idle.
The things they’ve saved up.
Withdrawing while stockpiling energy.
Roar!
In an instant, they unleash it all. Dozens of circuits rise simultaneously behind Professor Lrutia. With their back against the wall, they swing their arm. The circuits burst with light. Completed spells pour forth.
And the hunter…
“Ha!”
Bursts into laughter, stomping the ground.
Bam! The arena shakes. The distance between the two is merely five steps now.
Five steps forward.
In five steps, victory or defeat will be decided.
—
3.
I opened my eyes wide.
Dozens of circuits, floating behind Kelharlem’s back, burst forth with light. At a glance, there are easily over a dozen spells.
‘If I were to use Smash, I could erase them all at once, but…’
With a strike, it would be impossible.
With only about five steps left, being cornered against the wall, Kelharlem too must be taking a risk with this move.
‘Thirteen, fourteen…’
Roughly 14 spells.
‘He must be buying time, thinking that once I close the distance, he’ll unleash the final prepared spell.’
Plus one, that’s fifteen.
In this, the battle will be decided. I recalled the duel, already closer to its end. The original aim of the duel, which was to discern Kelharlem’s constraints, had already concluded.
‘Original goal achieved.’
Additionally, I imparted some lessons to the students.
‘So now, I just have to lose.’
Elegantly, leaving a sense of regret, I just need to lose, extremely narrowly. I truly didn’t want to lose, but this was the agreement with Kalt.
‘Promises must be kept…’
Slurp, I absentmindedly considered how to look cool while losing and moved.
Bam!
I stomped my foot, tearing through their spells.
Swinging my hand, I detonated a fireball, and knocked aside the flying stone debris with my fist, taking a step forward.
‘Four steps forward.’
The spray of water and the fireball collide. Steam rises, obscuring my vision, but just by sensing the flow of mana beyond the mist, I could roughly respond.
‘Three steps forward.’
I took another step.
‘Two.’
When I had just about two steps left, I gazed at the four incoming spells, finishing my thought. The coolest way to lose would be to lose at the very last moment.
‘If I just step one more, I can think of it as victory!’
Just enough to leave a little regret.
So, let’s take just one more step forward.
Thwack!
I tore through three spells, deliberately leaving one spell behind. The leftover one was a flying boulder launched from my blind spot. I could even use the excuse of narrowed vision, making it perfect.
‘Of course, I could see it all through the flow of mana.’
Pretending I didn’t see, I moved.
Tap.
Stepping leisurely forward, the rising boulder slammed into my jaw. With a thump, my head jerked back.
‘Now all that’s left is to fall down.’
Not painful.
My jaw was tingly, but it didn’t hurt.
‘I just have to fall…’
I should just close my eyes and collapse.
“…Ah.”
That’s the situation, with my head tilted back.
On the verge of defeat, the sight of the audience caught my eye. Battle magic students were there. They were watching me with clenched fists, truly embodying the phrase “sweaty palms.”
Their gazes seemed genuinely sparkling.
It truly felt like they were wishing for my victory.
‘…I have to lose.’
…Should I take one more step?
I briefly lowered my gaze. While I was narrowing the distance through the spells, a circuit of Kelharlem had emerged. It was aiming for me.
‘If I don’t fall, he’ll shoot that…?’
The final blow.
The literal final blow.
‘Just one more step.’
I lowered my head. I opened my eyes wide and took one step forward. The distance between Kelharlem and me closed completely. The circuit glowed right in front of me.
And at that moment.
“…Huff.”
I heard a breath.
Then, the mana that had filled the area suddenly dissipated. With that abrupt change, I stood awkwardly still.
‘What the hell.’
I widened my eyes and glared at Kelharlem.
Hurry up and shoot something, shouldn’t you? I shot him a glance but… what Kelharlem uttered was not the language of magic.
“I’ll say I lost.”
Kelharlem waved his hand and said. He raised both arms above his head in surrender.
“…What?”
“I said I’ll call it as my loss.”
No.
“What, did you say?”
“I lost. You won. Congratulations.”
No, wait a moment.
“Judge. It seems the duel has come to an end.”
[Uh, um…]
Amidst the bewilderment of the commentators, Kelharlem brushed past me. I turned my head creakingly to look at him. He glanced back at me as if there was nothing strange about it.
“It was a good match.”
As if he were indulging me.
Though he was the victor, his tone seemed to imply that he was graciously conceding to prevent me from getting hurt. So it was spoken in a manner that brought about immense humiliation…
“You’ve got some skill.”
Kelharlem said.
‘No, damn.’
My eyes widened.
“No, wait. Hold on. Hey.”
My shoulders shook.
This was a victory that didn’t even feel like a proper loss.
“Shoot. Go on, shoot! Do you know who I am? Who could…!”
Just as I was about to point a finger at Kelharlem, someone grabbed my arm with a thud. The someone leaned in and whispered gently in my ear.
“Senpai, let it go now…”
“No, let go. Just let go of me, damn it…!”
“Senpai, please…”
Kalt was dragging my arm.
I glared at Kelharlem, shouting at him. For some reason, Kalt couldn’t lift his head, but that wasn’t the crucial issue at hand.
“Hey! Let go!”
I cannot accept a victory like this, a victory like this is not something I can acknowledge.
“Senpai…”
“Ah, let go!”
“Let’s go, please…”
—
Author’s Note:
In games, losing isn’t the most frustrating thing.
It’s “winning while losing.”
An embarrassing victory…!
